Prayer #3 - Purity of Heart
July 18, 2021      |     By: Jonathan Brickley      |      Category: Sermons      |      Location: El Dorado
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Breakthrough in Prayer Through:
1) Purity of Heart (Right With God)
2) Freedom from offense with spiritual family (Right With man)

Prayer - Always Answered

Three Exceptions in Scripture
1) David - life of his baby
2) Paul - thorn in flesh
3) Jesus - “Let this cup pass”

E.M. BOUNDS:
Prayer Is:
- “Asking God for something that He wants to give and has already promised to give”
- “Using the Divinely Appointed means for obtaining what we need and for accomplishing God’s purposes on earth”

Words Are Not Prayer

The Only Condition of Prayer = The Character (Heart Posture) of the one praying

Pride Shuts the Door of Prayer

“First things First”

Psalm 51:16-19 (NIV)
16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
17 My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.
18 May it please you to prosper Zion, to build up the walls of Jerusalem.
19 Then you will delight in the sacrifices of the righteous, in burnt offerings offered whole; then bulls will be offered on your altar.

Psalm 51:16-19
FIRST - Broken & Contrite Heart (Right with God)
THEN - Sacrifices of the Righteous

Matthew 5:21-24 (NIV)
21 “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’
22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.
23 “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you,
24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.

Matthew 5:21-24
FIRST - GO & BE reconciled (Right with Man)
THEN - Come offer your gift

James 4:7-10 (NIV)
7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
8 Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
9 Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom.
10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

James 4:7-10
1) Submit to God’s rule & purify yourselves (Right with God)
2) Always Speak well of others (Right with Man)

If you are right with God, it will show in how you speak of other people.

John 15:7 (NIV)
7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.

Psalms 15:2-3 (NIV)
2 The one whose walk is blameless, who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from their heart;
3 whose tongue utters no slander, who does no wrong to a neighbor, and casts no slur on others;

1 John 2:9-11 (NIV)
9 Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness.
10 Anyone who loves their brother and sister lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble.
11 But anyone who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness. They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them.

1 John 4:20-21 (NIV)
20 Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen.
21 And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.

Hatred (Anger/Offense) towards brothers & sisters ushers in spiritual darkness, making us blind and leading us into wandering & stumbling.

It is IMPOSSIBLE (“cannot”) to love God with hatred, darkness in your heart towards a member of God’s family.

Judging (Matthew 7:1-3) - living with a tree in your eye

Matthew 7:1-3 (NIV)
1 “Do not judge, or you too will be judged.
2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
3 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?

ALWAYS – self-righteous, hypocritical without knowing it, aiming at superiority (being right)
vs
Warning (Matthew 18:15) helping remove the speck
ALWAYS - Gentle, honest, Frank, interceding, aiming at restoration & rescue from death

Matthew 18:15 (NIV)
15 “If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over.